SALEM, MA — Salem will add 12 homeless shelter beds and expand warming center hours as the city looks to find solutions for unhoused individuals as the harshest weather of the winter season approaches.
Lifebridge/Salem Mission was awarded $213,500 out of $9.9 million in state funding from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities to add the dozen beds and to expand warming center hours in Salem and Gloucester.
“With the recent increase in demand for assistance, these funds are critical in the expansion of services to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable members in our communities,” Lifebridge North Shore President Jason Etheridge said.
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A city ordinance banning camping on public property designed to give police a tool to break up homeless encampments at the South Harbor Walkway and other areas of the city passed the City Council in May with one final amendment that removed the potential to assess fines to unhoused people.
The vote followed weeks of impassioned public comment from both those who said the ban would serve to criminalize the homeless instead of help them and from residents and business owners who said the encampments were a public health and public safety threat.
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“Our community is facing a significant and growing demand this winter to shelter our unhoused neighbors,” Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo said in a news release about the funding. “Every additional bed makes a big difference in this critical work. This near-term solution will give a few more residents a place to sleep and warm up during the upcoming winter.”
Under the ordinance, the encampments will be prohibited in city parks and public property when shelter is available. The city is responsible for transporting the residents of the encampments to an available shelter of their choice and providing storage for the person’s belongings.
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In proposing the ordinance in April, Pangallo said preparations were being made to make more shelter space available in the city in the coming weeks and months.
“This funding will help ensure individuals experiencing homelessness have access to safe and warm shelter during the harshest winter days,” State Sen. Joan Lovely (D-Salem) said.
“This vital investment in Lifebridge will provide critical relief to individuals experiencing homelessness and ensure access to a shelter bed during the harsh winter months ahead,” said State Rep. Manny Cruz (D-Salem).
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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